Frequent Questions - Kansas K20 Librarians Whitespace Pilot

Equipment will be delivered as early as the first week in September. Installation and testing according to schedule should allow service to be active by mid-to-late September

How far will the signal reach?

There are two signals involved. The Whitespace signal can travel miles from the base station (the source of available bandwidth to one or more remote stations that support standard Wi-Fi access points.

The remote access points have a standard range of 50 to 100 feet.

The same geographic and atmospheric conditions that affect TV/radio reception and traditional Wi-Fi will have an effect on reach and performance.

What is the upload/download capacity per user?

The typical faster down than up. Per user will depend on the throughput to the access point divided by the number of simultaneous users. All the vendors promise is "multi-megabit" and definitely faster than a T1. The actual throughput will depend on distance and obstructions. No one should have expectations of super-fast connectivity. Basic broadband is the metric.

How many users can typically be accommodated?

This is regular Wi-Fi - the same you'd find at McDonald's or Starbucks - only maybe not as fast. The number of users isn't limited, only the speed.

What type of equipment do users need to access the White Space?

The signal is converted at the remote end to standard Wi-Fi signal accessible to laptops and other Wi-Fi-enabled devices.

After the pilot ends, will the libraries need to be licensed by the FCC to begin offering the service?